Kane goes down in the box demanding a penalty, but Rooney calls him out from the BBC studio.

In the 43rd minute of the first half, Harry Kane went down in front of Democratic Republic of Congo goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi-Nzau. The England captain lay on the turf, waiting for the penalty whistle.

The whistle blew.

Jordanian referee Adham Makhadmeh stopped the match, pointing toward the Democratic Republic of Congo's half. Dive. Free kick to the opponent. VAR intervened and upheld the call. The ruling was brutally cold: "Determined that there was little to no contact between the DR Congo goalkeeper and Kane."

The 39-year-old Jordanian, having run half the pitch in Atlanta's 34-degree heat, went to the sideline to watch the replay. What he saw was completely different from what the English in the BBC studio saw: the England captain tripped himself and then leaned into the goalkeeper. In the referee's eyes, that was acting.

The moment Kane hit the ground, the BBC studio erupted.

Owen fired the first shot, slamming the word "disgrace" onto the table. Shearer, Richards, and Joe Hart took turns defending their captain. The English legends were so protective they threw all shame to the wind.

Then Rooney spoke.

In the same studio, England's second-highest all-time scorer said something that left everyone speechless. He said Kane "seemed to trip himself and then deliberately moved toward the goalkeeper." Others were shouting that England had been robbed; Rooney was saying their captain had botched the act. No one could convince anyone.

Kane wanted the penalty too badly because he had tasted the sweetness before. Two weeks earlier, in the group stage against Croatia, his penalty was saved, but VAR ruled the goalkeeper moved early, giving him a retake. He scored the second time. That time, VAR was an ally.

This time, VAR couldn't be bothered to look twice.

Two days earlier, the same script had played out on another pitch. Germany vs. Paraguay. Tah's extra-time header was disallowed by VAR because teammate Anton was ruled to have fouled the goalkeeper. Germany coach Nagelsmann spat out the word "scandal" after the match, with the same gritted teeth as the English legends shouting "disgrace." Within 48 hours, two traditional powerhouses had been ground into the turf by VAR. Germany was eliminated in the penalty shootout that followed; Tah didn't even get a second chance.

VAR: one match, it hands you a ladder; the next, it pulls the chair out from under you.

England still won in the end and will face Mexico in the next round.

But Mpasi-Nzau remained on his goal line. At the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations, this goalkeeper personally scored the winning penalty in a shootout to eliminate Egypt; in the World Cup playoffs, DR Congo again eliminated Nigeria on penalties. In front of a goalkeeper who lives by penalties, England's penalty king couldn't get one.

Atlanta, 34 degrees. Everyone was replaying that frame of the fall. The referee's whistle had already answered.

Dive.